Iranian state-run media claimed on Wednesday that a merchant ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran has insisted on controlling the strategic waterway.
“A cargo ship attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz using a US-suggested route has run aground; an incident even worse than sinking,” state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and PressTV said in a July 1 post on X.
PressTV, meanwhile, said the ship was “foreign” and also claimed the vessel was straying from a route established by Iran.
The Iranian regime has said that ships using the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for about 20 percent of the world’s traded oil, must follow Tehran’s routes and has suggested that uncooperative vessels could be attacked.
Over the weekend, the U.S. military launched strikes against Iranian targets after Tehran fired at a ship in the strait. Iran also launched strikes inside Kuwait and Bahrain, which host American military bases.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Mideast envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, are visiting Qatar for talks on implementing a deal that was laid out under a memorandum of understanding signed last month by Washington and Tehran. The envoys won’t be having direct negotiations with Iranian diplomats while in Qatar’s capital, Doha, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Iran is also sending a delegation to Qatar this week. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on June 30 that Iran had no plans to meet with the American side at any level in the coming days.
“What will take place in Doha tomorrow is a discussion with the Qatari side about implementing parts of the memorandum of understanding, including the release of Iran’s blocked assets,” Baghaei told reporters at his own briefing.
The United States and Iran agreed to an interim deal earlier this month that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of enriched uranium. It also waives U.S.-backed oil sanctions on the country, calls for free traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and gives each side 60 days to hammer out broader agreements.
Witkoff and Kushner also met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on July 1, the emir’s office told Qatari-owned Al Jazeera TV. They discussed the progress of the talks with Iran, the office added.
Lebanon is another key point in a final deal. Iran has insisted that all fighting between the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah and Israeli military forces in the country end.
Iran has also called for Israel to give up land it occupies in southern Lebanon. Israel has said it must hold the territory and have a free hand to counterattack Hezbollah, which has been launching missiles into northern Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
